Hottest Places for Eating and Drinking in Busan

Don’t know what to do in Busan Korea besides swimming and sightseeing? Perhaps one of the best activities to make the most of your trip is by eating and drinking in Busan. Known as the major port of the country, expect numerous seafood restaurants across the metropolis. Busan is an excellent place to relish tasty dishes ranging from seafood soup, raw fish, roasted eel and more.

Delicious Chigae – local dish in Busan

However, the city is not limited to seafood restaurants as Western restaurants are increasing in number, especially in the busy district of Seomyeon. When it comes to nightlife, you can enjoy a wide range of drinking establishments here, from bars and KTV, to lounges and live music venues in different parts of Busan. From street vendors and eateries to upscale restaurants in Busan, there are countless options to choose from when it comes to eating and drinking in Busan.

The six-storey Shindonga Market is an excellent place for fishmongers to butcher fish and skin eels, where octopi and giant crabs escape their tanks and where you can sample some expensive whale meat. While the ground floor is filled by the raw seafood market, the upper floors are home to many fresh seafood restaurants offering Busan delicacies like barbecued eel or fish soups. Just be careful with some seafood soups as they can be exceedingly spicy.

Dining out in Busan often starts and ends at a Barbeque Restaurant. Unlike restaurants in the West, Korean BBQ eateries specialize in one type of meat with few exceptions. Simply look for signs or cartoon character of goat, pig, cow, chicken or fish to determine the type of grill house you’re entering. There are Korean BBQ restos that allow cook-it-yourself service, where diners are given raw meat and a griller for them to cook.

If you are dining with a Korean, let the oldest person cook and be sure to pour drinks for them. The city is more stunning at night than it is during day. From the illumination of Gwangan Bridge to the bright lights in commercial districts, there is no shortage of what to do in Busan Korea once evening falls. In fact, the city’s nightclub and bar culture does not come to life until dark. Numerous drinking spots can be tried all over Busan, but most are concentrated on Haeundae, Gwangalli, Seomyeon, Kyungsung University area, Nampo-dong and the PNU area. Upscale bars and loungers are often located inside high-end hotels in Busan while budget and mid-range bars and nightclubs can be found across the city. The hofs or German-style beer joints and pojang macha or rice wine joints are a common sight in the streets of Busan. Places with English-speaking workers can be found in upscale hotels and foreigner streets. One popular place for foreigners in Busan is Texas Street, an international hub where foreign shops, restaurants, cafes and drinking bars are found.

Visiting Busan is a cool experience and lets you sample different Korean dishes. Some of the most popular ones include kimchi, denjang, kimbab, bibimbap, udong, bukumbab, and chigae. Indeed, spending a night eating and drinking in Busan is one of the most unforgettable experiences not to miss when traveling in this beautiful city.